Despite the highly critical situation and all of the uproar occurring in Egypt, in parallel with scenes of the dead bodies of victims, the blood of those wounded, the unrest in the street and the anger in hearts and minds, and amid fears of violence spreading and the state collapsing, the Shura Council – which forms the legislative branch of government in the country, and whose majority is of course comprised of members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists – was in session yesterday to discuss passing a law that would regulate the process of protesting. The discussions that took place showed that the people who spoke at the Council and the events taking place in Egypt were in two completely different worlds, and it seemed from following the session that much worse was yet to come. Does it seem logical, or is what is happening in Egypt surprising? The answer is absolutely that indications had appeared early on, that starting out the wrong way and insisting upon it will lead the country to a disastrous outcome, and that leveling accusations at the media, the remnants (of the former regime) and the opposition will not solve even the most minor problem. What then to say of the country's most major problems?! The main issue right now is the fact that those in power do not realize that they are making mistakes, and believe – or are in fact convinced – that they are only doing what is best, despite it being plain for them and for everyone to see that the situation is at its worst – and that is precisely where the catastrophe resides. Such a truth explains what was taking place at the Shura Council and the discussion that occurred there. Indeed, those MPs believe that the absence of a law regulating protests is the reason for the dire situation reached by the country, without coming anywhere near the reasons that have driven people to take to the streets, demonstrate and protest – with some of them making use of violence out of anger and despair. The Egyptian crisis will not be resolved through “national dialogue" that would bring those in power and the opposition together around one table. Indeed, the movement in the street is developing much more rapidly than any dialogue, whatever its form or its outcome. The angry crowds will not be appeased by a speech by the President in which he would offer his people condolences or clear the name of his supporters, or assert his own good intentions. Indeed, those protesting do not belong to a single segment of the population, nor are they angry for a single reason. Solutions will only come through truly revolutionary policies and decisions, not those which the people in power, the Muslim Brotherhood or its Islamist allies consider to be revolutionary, while they are among the masses of the people or even among opposition forces considered “backwards headed", or expressing the same stances and policies that had been adopted – and continue to be – by Doctor Mohamed Morsi ever since he came to power, even if he uses other terms and different expressions. Even if one were to assume that everything those in power, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists are saying is 100% sound and as true as it can possibly be, and to agree to the existence of conspiracies aimed at thwarting the Muslim Brotherhood in power and at excluding Islamists from the political scene, and even if people were to believe that the legacy of the past is putting pressure on those in power, that the heritage of Mubarak and his regime is a heavy and dismal one, and that the failure to deal with such a heritage and legacy, to devise solutions to people's problems and to achieve “renaissance" is due to the movements of the opposition and to the expectations placed by the people having such a high ceiling that it exceeds all capabilities, the truth is that it is those in power themselves who bear the greater responsibility for their failure and for causing the country to be thrust into the flames of a civil war, the first signs of which appeared months ago and which today is at the gates, or in fact has stormed the gates! It is too late to talk of promises that were made and were not kept, as everyone knows and as even the people in power are aware of. There is no point talking about the obstinacy that was practiced, the stubbornness that went too far and the mistakes that were made, bringing the country to the verge of total collapse. What matters now is to talk about solutions, not to admonish the President, his party, the group he is affiliated to or his allies – regardless of the confusion of decisions issued then retracted. Even if one were to assume that the constitution, which the President, his party, the group he is affiliated to and his allies are so proud of, is the finest constitution in Egypt's history and the best constitution in the world, the stages the preparation of such a constitution went through have resulted in the dangerous repercussion amid which Egypt finds itself today – starting from the formation of the Constitutive Assembly and ending with the referendum on its articles, through excluding opposition forces, besieging the Constitutional Court, issuing constitutional declarations that reinforced the decisions of the President, the Shura Council and the Constitutive Assembly itself, and moving forward with all of this amid highly complicated circumstances and in parallel with other issues, such as that of the massacre of Port Said or those of deteriorating services, rising prices and poor living conditions. The Muslim Brotherhood's biggest mistake is that it hurried up when it should have slowed down, and hastened when its duty should have been to take its time. It found power in its hands and rushed to monopolize it, despite being a group that had always adopted policies of endurance. It took the Brotherhood more than 80 years to reach the seat of power in the largest Arab country, and when it “succeeded", it failed. If only it had been patient, what it sought after would have come on its own. Those in power placed the police in a confrontation with the people. Thus clashes occurred and blood was shed on both sides. The Shura Council imagined that a law regulating protests would be sure to solve all those problems. And the President imagined that calling for national dialogue would distract people, keep them busy from continuing to protest, stop the demonstrations or prevent clashes. What is required of all those in power, the President, his party, the group he is affiliated to and his allies, is to first realize the mistakes they have made. Then discussion can begin about a way out of the catastrophe, or about others' mistakes... or conspiracies.
